Page 12 - Allah's Gentle Artistry

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how hard they work to feed them, protect them from cold, and even
how they place their own lives in danger when an enemy is nearby.
But why do these creatures work so tirelessly on behalf of their
young? Why don't they leave them on their own, instead of duti-
fully attending to all their needs? Do they do so consciously? For

example, is it reasonable to think that a bird can be consciously de-
termined to risk its own death to protect its young? Of course not!
An animal cannot possess such feelings of tenderness and compas-
sion on its own. The plain fact is that Allah has inspired in these
creatures a wondrous sense of tenderness and parental love. And
one of creation's greatest wonders is the self-sacrifice of parents for
their babies.
Another wonder is how cute all young animals are, as some
examples in the following pages will show. Babies of most species

usually have big eyes and round faces; and an expression that we
humans interpret as innocent, helpless, and bewildered. Also, their
behavior makes them loveable and awakens in us the instinct to
protect them.
These qualities in young animals are manifestations of Allah's
gentle artistry (gentle in this sense also includes the ideas of "lov-
able," "friendly," "tame" and "docile"). As with everything else in

the universe, these animals are submissive to Allah, as He reveals
to us in the following verse: